Presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Sunday, vowed to be a president to every Nigerian without prejudice. He stressed that his emergence as the next President of Nigeria will bring an end to poverty, insecurity and other woes the country is currently grappling with. He said this at a town hall meeting with Muslim Leaders from South West in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, in continuation of his engagements with religious groups and leaders in the country. with religious groups and leaders in the country.   The APC standard bearer also commended religious leaders in the country for their continued prayers and sermons, which he noted, had contributed to unity and peaceful coexistence, adding that he would retool the economy for the benefit of all Nigerians. He described the forthcoming 2023 general elections as “Nigeria’s momentous encounter with destiny”. Asiwaju Tinubu urged the Islamic clerics to educate their followers on the importance of exercising their franchise and voting only tested candidates with a track record of excellent public service, “and not falling for the lies and gimmicks of those that have nothing to offer.” Tinubu, who spoke partly in Yoruba language, said: “This election season has been a hybrid of facts and falsehood, truth and lies. I would like the election to be one based on facts and truth. “What is a candidate’s record of performance and what are his policies? “I ask you to urge your followers to come out and vote and to do so wisely. Vote for a candidate that has vision for a peaceful, prosperous Nigeria where tolerance and compassion undergird our constitutional and legal rights.” The 2023 presidential election frontrunner assured Nigerians that he would be “a fair and just leader,” adding, “My pledge for fairness and justice is consistent with the tenets of Islamic faith. “A leader in a plural society like ours is enjoined to be a leader of all. “If elected, I shall govern in an honest and democratic manner in harmony with our nation’s constitution.” Citing his excellent stewardship as Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Tinubu promised to use that experience to lead Nigeria in the “same spirit of innovation and pragmatic vision to uplift the nation and renew the hope of Nigerians.” Earlier welcoming Tinubu to the interaction, MUSWEN President, Alhaji Rasaki Oladejo, said the event provided an opportunity for the APC candidate to interface with the Muslim leaders of South West on his plans for the nation if elected, “particularly on how he could make the country a land of great opportunities where no man will be oppressed.” The National Chief Missioner of Anwar-ur- Deen Movement, Sheikh Ahmad Abdulrahman, said the gathering was not to campaign or endorse Asíwájú or any candidate. … with Christian leaders The APC candidate had earlier interfaced with bishops from pentecostal churches in the 19 states of the North and the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, where he delivered a similar message as he did to the Muslim leaders of South West. He had told the Christian leaders that if elected, he would run an inclusive government that will be blind to ethnicity and religion, but fair and equitable to all Nigerians. Tinubu, who arrived at the venue of the meeting around 1:20pm, was accompanied by the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Obafemi Hamzat; former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, and Hajia Hadiza Bala Usman. Those who received Tinubu in Ibadan to the meeting included the gubernatorial candidate of APC, Senator Teslim Folarin; Oyo South senatorial candidate, Sharafadeen Alli; Oyo North senatorial candidate, Dr Abdulfatai Buhari; Dr Yunus Akintunde and former Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu. Some of the Muslim leaders from the South West at the event included the President of Muslim Ummah of South West (MUSWEN), Alhaji Rasaki Oladejo; MUSWEN Executive Secretary, Professor Muslih Yahya; Director of Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), Professor Isiaq Akintola, and President-General, League of Imans and Alfas of Yorubaland, Sheikh Jamiu Kewulere Bello.

  The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has said contrary to insinuations in some quarters, he had met with Governor Nyesom Wike five times im attempts to settle the party’s leadership crisis. Atiku he was now waiting for “the other side”. Atiku made the revelation at Channels TV town hall meeting on Sunday. He equally condemed he May 13 lynching of Deborah Samuel by religious extremists in a school in Sokoto, for alleged blasphemy. Atiku also explained why he deleted a tweet on the matter a day later. On the PDP crisis, he said contrary to speculations in some quarters, he had held no less than five face-to-face meetings with Wike. “I have met with Wike two times in Abuja, two times in Port Harcourt and once in London personally,” Atiku explained. Atiku absolved himself of blame that the issues were yet to be amicably resolved, saying he was still waiting for “the other side”.

  The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, has said that himself and his running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa, might not have all the answers, but would certainly listen more and act accordingly to bring succour to Nigerians. Atiku said this in his opening remarks at the ongoing Channels TV town hall meeting, in Abuja. On his part, Okowa described his principal as the right man for the job. He noted that “with the poor state of affairs in the country, Nigeria needs him to make things right.” … on the answers “I was among those who fought the military; I went on exile. “We (with running mate) may not have all the answers, but we will serve by listening to Nigerians. “It is not that we have not been listening but we are here to listen more.” Lafia rally Meanwhile, the Atiku-Okowa presidential campaign train of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, will on Monday stop in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, in continuation of its tour with the “rescue Nigeria” message. National Organising Secretary of the PDP, who is also the Director of Field Operations of the Presidential Campaign Council, Umar Bature, announced the Lafia rally in an invitation sent out to party supporters, in Abuja, on Sunday.

  The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has said he did not understand the Boko Haram phenomenon, lamenting that despite the efforts of the Nigerian Army, the insurgency had not been eliminated. The former vice president stated this on Sunday during the People’s Town Hall 2023 series aired on Channels TV which was monitored by The PUNCH. Atiku, who featured with his running mate, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, responded to questions on insecurity and was asked about his position on Boko Haram. He said, “I still cannot understand why we should have Boko Haram. You see, I served in Borno State when it was in the North-East, and as a Customs officer and I was patrolling the entire North-East, so I am very conversant with the vegetation and with the border areas. I still cannot find a place in the Borno areas where anybody can hide and cannot be seen. I cannot understand honestly, the Boko Haram phenomenon. “Sometimes when returning from Europe, 30 feet above, I could see a man walking in Borno State, so where is the place to hide? To the extent that they say there is a place called Sambisa forest. I have been there. I didn’t see a forest. It is just shrubs here and there. “So we have deployed the Nigerian military which used to be one of the best in the world. They have fought, you know, a number of the international arena and they have excelled and here we have deployed them with their might and everything and we just could not eliminate Boko Haram. So I am puzzled. So maybe when I get there, I will understand, but honestly, I cannot understand the Boko Haram phenomenon. “Everything is there. Politics is there, business is there, security, everything. Of course, the solution is leadership, strong leadership to deal with all these interest groups within the military and outside the military.” When asked about his position on militancy if it arose again in the PDP administration, Okowa said with appropriate leadership, there would not be a recurrence of such in the South-South. He said, “I believe that once you provide the needed governance, it is unlikely that militancy will return. You first need to ask what led to that. People felt ignored. People felt excluded from governors, they were not seeing the infrastructure. Their children didn’t find the space to get properly educated, to get access to justice.” Atiku also disclosed his plan to remove subsidy and negotiate with relevant stakeholders to provide palliatives for citizens. He said, “I have already announced that we are going to remove subsidy and then of course negotiate with all stakeholders on how we can establish palliatives for removing subsidies. “Whether we decide to remove subsidy or not, based on the Petroleum Industry Act, by June next year, subsidy will have to stop and that is the law that has been passed by the National Assembly. But as far back as last election season, I announced that I was going to remove subsidy. When I was the Vice President, we were to remove subsidy in four stages. As the Chairman of the Economic Council, I supervised and implemented Phase One and Phase Two. By the time we got to Phase Three, it was suspended. If we had gone with that programme, by the time we left office, there wouldn’t have been any more subsidies for any government to inherit.” On his part, Okowa said subsidy removal would provide funds for the education and health sectors. “Education is suffering, health service is suffering. These two areas are very critical to the larger majority of Nigerians who are in the poverty area. “And it is important that we begin to free funds to address issues of education and to address issues of health so that we can provide help to a large majority of our people and provide education for our children and ensure that we’re able to develop every Nigerian to such an extent that they can freely compete for themselves and be able to take care of themselves,” he said. In his response to the question on how he would tackle the shortage of foreign exchange, Atiku said, “I would direct the Central Bank to stop multiple exchanges so that we close the gap. “And then of course, secondly, how do we also encourage foreign investors to bring in forex from abroad? I think is very key as far as that challenge is concerned. So basically if you can do that, you will then make it available for as much as possible. “For most of the industries or factories first of all we will ensure that there is only one exchange rate, not multiple exchange rates as we currently have because the multiple exchange rate regime is corrupted and the people who desire the foreign exchange so I think this is a very serious issue. It is not a question of what role I can bring it but it is a mechanism by the central bank.” Regarding the moribund refineries in the country, Atiku explained that they should be privatised. He said, “For the four refineries that don’t work, please, let’s give them to the private sector. I mean, in every great nation in this country, you find that the private sector is the driver of the economy. They provide the jobs, they provide the prosperity, and they do everything. Why should we be different?” On the country’s healthcare system, Okowa called for the support of the private sector in the development of tertiary health institutions while the government focus on primary healthcare. He said, “We are encouraging the private sector to develop tertiary health institutions, while we encourage the sub-national governments to ensure that the primary healthcare development service is at its best. Because when you can ensure that you provide basic health services through the primary healthcare centres across the nation, you find that your people are going to progress.

  The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Sunday, promised that his administration will revive the manufacturing sector and diversify the economy for the benefit of everyone. The former Lagos State governor stated this, according to a statement issued by his media aide, Mr Tunde Rahman, during a town hall meeting with Muslim leaders from South West in Ibadan, Oyo State. Tinubu said, “Regarding the economy, we seek to repair the very structure of the economy. We can no longer flourish as an economy based on natural resource extraction. “We must become a dynamic, diversified economy where those who want to work can find a good job. But let us also be a society sufficiently compassionate to help those who cannot help themselves. “We must revive manufacturing and industrial growth to create jobs as well as produce the goods and services that improve the daily lives of the average person. “We seek a minimum of six per cent growth annually through reform of our industrial policy, infrastructural enhancement, power sector innovation, and significant budgetary reform.” The APC candidate also urged religious leaders to encourage their followers to come out to vote in the forthcoming elections. “I ask you to urge your followers to come out and vote and to do so wisely. Vote for a candidate that has a vision for a peaceful, prosperous Nigeria where tolerance and compassion undergird our constitutional and legal rights. My pledge to fairness and justice is consistent with the tenets of the Islamic faith. “A leader in a plural society like ours is enjoined to be a leader of all. If elected, I shall govern honestly and democratically in harmony with our nation’s constitution,” he added. Also speaking at the event, the President of Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria, Alhaji Rasaki Oladejo, noted that the event provided an opportunity for the APC candidate to interface with Muslim leaders in the South-West on his plans for the nation if elected, “particularly on how he could make the country a land of great opportunities where no man will be oppressed.” The National Chief Missioner of Anwar-ur- Deen Movement, Sheikh Ahmad Abdulrahman, said, “The gathering was not to campaign or endorse Asiwaju or any candidate but to seek and to know and to see whether Asiwaju Tinubu can still deliver for the country as he did as governor of Lagos State.” Knocks for Atiku Meanwhile, the APC Campaign Council urged Nigerians on Sunday not to fall for the ‘sugar-coated’ promises of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar. The development comes only hours after Atiku committed to providing all Abuja indigenes with their entitlements and appointments if elected. Atiku made the commitment at the PDP presidential rally in Abuja on Saturday, along with promising to ensure the ambitions of Abuja residents in a reviewed constitution. However, the APC presidential campaign council kicked against Atiku’s proposed development and warned that the opposition flag bearer is striving too hard to deceive the people with empty promises. This was disclosed in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday by the Director of Media and Publicity for the APC PCC, Bayo Onanuga. Onanuga said a party that should be eternally shameful about its appalling record in governance between 1999 and 2015 is busy attempting to rewrite history and embellish the ‘locust years’ as if it were a golden era in Nigeria’s history. He said, “We need to warn Nigerians to be wary of the sugar-coated promises of former vice president, Atiku Abubakar and his Peoples Democratic Party as they embark on their inordinate and desperate campaign to gain power at all cost. “What is more shocking is Atiku’s audacity in standing up to ask for our votes despite what his boss, President Olusegun Obasanjo, wrote about him in his book, ‘My Watch.’ Obasanjo wrote that it would have been an unpardonable mistake and a sin against God to foist him on Nigeria. Until tomorrow, Obasanjo believes this.” Onanuga accused Atiku of “spewing a series of lies, making empty promises, and presenting a false narrative about our present reality and the legacy of the 16-year ignoble era of the PDP administration, of which he was a principal actor. “He claimed at his rally in Abuja on Saturday that the country is not secure for trading and farming, a false narrative that he has been pushing around for some time, since he relocated to Nigeria from his base in Dubai, principally to contest the election.”

  The presidential candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi, has lamented the degradation of the status of the Ibadan city. According to a statement on Sunday by his campaign council, Obi spoke during a courtesy visit to the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Olalekan Balogun, on Saturday. He was quoted to have complained that the “University of Ibadan known for quality education has become shadow of its old self.” Obi during the visit, however, promised to restore the educational status of the institutions in Ibadan if elected president in 2023. The statement read in part, “In the past, according to Obi, people came from all over the nation and outside Nigeria to seek quality university education in the famous citadel of learning, the University of Ibadan. Today, the university, regrettably, is now a shadow of its old self. “He also commented on the very high reputation of the UCH as a medical centre of excellence patronised by all African nationals. “Obi promised that as a Nigerian President, he will restore the educational status of these institutions and thereby make Ibadan City regain its lost glory.” In his response, the Olubadan was said to have advised Obi to remain focused and committed to his programmes. A member of the Olubadan traditional council, the Balogun of Ibadan, Tajudeen Ajibola, who spoke on behalf of the monarch said, “How our people would live securely and how to ensure that the 2023 general elections are held without any form of violence, these are the concerns of Olubadan.”

  Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has urged the Church in Nigeria to be vigilant and not allow itself to be used by desperate politicians who desire power at all cost in the 2023 general elections. The governor stated this on Sunday at the St. Paul’s Cathedral, Diobu-Port Harcourt during the Rivers Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Dedication Service for 2023 Election Campaigns. Wike, told the Church in Nigeria to ‘shine its eyes’, a Nigerian lingo to be alert to current happenings, and not be dragged unnecessarily into political intrigues. “All of us should participate in the politics of Nigeria but the church must not be used as if we are fighting a religious war. “We have to be careful so that the church is not destroyed,” the governor said. Wike said just as the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is not good for democracy, so also is it unacceptable for a northerner – PDP’s Atiku Abubakar – to take over from Katsina-born President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023. “We cannot hand over govt to unserious people,” Wike said, adding that political parties must pay to use any public facility in Rivers. Unending Row With about two months to the 2023 presidential election on February 25, politicians have been seen at major programmes of mega churches, tacitly seeking support of their large congregations. Wike’s 2023 presidential ambition was terminated when he lost the PDP’s primary to Atiku in May. Atiku, a former Vice President later stung Wike when he passed over his closest rival at the primary and chose Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa as his running mate. Wike has since been at loggerheads with PDP presidential candidate (Atiku) over the chairmanship of Iyorchia Ayu. Wike with four other PDP governors known as the G5 or the Integrity Group have insisted that Benue-born Ayu must step down for a southerner as a precondition to support the 2023 ambition of Atiku. Last month, Wike promised logistics support for the campaigns of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi; and his New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) counterpart, Rabiu Kwankwaso. While Wike and his allies have not been seen to campaign for Atiku, it is not clear whether they will support Obi, Kwankwaso or APC’s Bola Tinubu in the contest for Aso Rock’s top job.